Mother
by Alyissa
Summary: After so many years Inu-Yasha's returned to Kagome, but Shippo's the one who can't cope.
1. Inu-Yasha's Return

Mother  
  
Kagome bounced home. She had just aced a test and she was expecting Inu- Yasha to come back soon. It had been exactly two years ago when she had fallen in to the well and a year to this day that she had finished her quest and restored the Jewel of Four Souls. Inu-Yasha had promised to return, to wait for her. That seemed like it had been yesterday instead of a whole year.  
  
Kagome had no idea she was being watched. Just the site of her made the dog demon smile. Soon she would know and they would be together.  
  
When Kagome arrived home her best friend Hisu was waiting for her. She had known him for a while at least two years and maybe longer. When she had seen Inu-Yasha she had thought Hisu was a reincarnation except Inu- Yasha's a demon and won't die. Recently she had a feeling that Hisu wanted more then a friendship from her and that worried her a bit.  
  
"Hey Hisu."  
  
"Umh" Hisu turned around and flashes a smile, "Hi Kagome! Wanna go out and get a bite to eat?"  
  
Kagome hesitated... Inu-Yasha where are you?  
  
Seeing Kagome hesitate he flashed another smile, fangs gleamed brightly, "Please?"  
  
Kagome gasped. That smile... so familiar... but not on his face. The thought struck Kagome that Hisu never showed his teeth when he smiled and that he never took off his hat or hood. "Hisu, take off your hood."  
  
Slowly Hisu drew back his hood to reveal to (cute and furry) dog-ears and a mass of long white hair.  
  
Kagome's heart leapt. "Inu-Yasha!" she yelled and leapt to his arms.  
  
"How 'bout dinner now?" asked he asked mischievously.  
  
Kagome drew back, "This is for leaving me for so long. SIT! And this is for coming back." she knelt beside the crumpled dog demon and pulled him up to her lap and kissed him. "Lets go for dinner now," she suggested feeling much better.  
  
Kagome had no idea why Inu-Yasha wanted to go to such a fancy restaurant but allowed him to pull her after the waiter. She stared at the table they were heading for and stopped dead. 3 people were already sitting at the table. She squinted to get a better look but didn't need to. Sango and Mirku looked just like they had a year ago but that was impossible. It had been decades to them. She didn't know the third person. Feeling her stop Inu-Yasha bent down and whispered "Kaede did a spell using the blood of Shippo and I to lengthen their life. Their married now. The third persons Shippo."  
  
Kagome nodded numbly and followed Inu-Yasha to the table.  
  
Kagome was glad for the hood. She felt like a stranger. Inu-Yasha on the other hand wanted to tell them the good news but was going to wait till Kagome was ready.  
  
"Inu-Yasha, you jerk." Shippo didn't wait for an explanation, "Have you dismissed Kagome? Is she not worth the time to search for." Shippo leapt up and stalked out.  
  
Inu-Yasha was about to retort but Kagome shook her head and ran after Shippo. While she was running her hood slipped off, Sango and Miroku got a glimpse of long raven hair before she disappaerd out the door.  
  
"Then thats... she's.... is it true...?" Sango asked.  
  
Inu-Yasha nodded.  
  
Shippo felt the stupid human follow him. He hated this girl. Kagome had been like a mother to him and he had never imagined her with anyone but Inu-Yasha. The bastered dog-demon had blown it. He turned into a back ally and leaped onto the roof. Kagome slowed to a walk, the Jewel of Four Souls (which hung on her neck) gleamed brightly lighting her way (it also gave Kagome the gift of immortality), and pulled up her hood. When she rounded the corner a gang of men jumped her. One snatched her necklace others ripped at her clothing.  
  
Shippo was about to leave but considering this was his fault turned to help instead. He jumped down and killed her attackers. As he walked away a weird glow coming from the hand of a dead guy attracted his attention. He turned to steal whatever it was and when he pryed it out of a cold hand he stared. The jewel... The jewel of Four Souls... but... only Kagome... NO... can it be...? Shippo whirled around and ran to her uncounsious form. He knelt cradling her head as he pulled back the hood. Hugging her on his lap he cried broken-heartedly. NO! He couldn't of felt worse if he had killed his own mother. She was a mother to him, the only mother he had only known. Watching her through teary eyes he thought he saw her chest move. Yes! He saw it again. He felt her pulse preying she would have one. There it was slow but steady. Shippo got up and holding Kagome as if she were a doll walked back to the restaurant thinking up excuses the whole way. 


	2. Reincarnated Kaede

1 Mother: Chapter 2  
  
"Let's go over this one more time. You were upset because you thought Kagome was some one else. You ran out of the restaurant, into a dark, potentially dangerous alley, even though you felt Kagome following you. A gang of demons attacked her. You decided not to help her at first, waiting instead until she got fatally injured, then jumped to her rescue." Inu- Yasha felt he was being fair about this. He had barley yelled, meanwhile Kagome, his Kagome, was sitting on a bed in the other room, barely breathing, while Shippo squirmed like a child on the couch.  
  
"Actually they weren't demons, just a gang of punks." Shippo would've looked sheepish if the circumstances weren't so extreme.  
  
"Not demons… so you let Kagome die because you didn't feel like taking a second to take out a small gang of punks?" Inu-Yasha's voice lowered to a dangerous rumble that Shippo had only heard once before.  
  
"It was a large gang. There were at least fifteen of them." He tried another excuse.  
  
"Your right Shippo, fifteen humans against one full blooded demon isn't fair. How long did it take you to intervene?" Inu-Yasha had changed… a lot. It used to be he would scream and yell, now though his tone just took a dangerous somewhat sarcastic edge that was some how more scary.  
  
"Look I screwed up. Deal. I don't need to hear that Kagome is going to die because of me. I've told myself enough times so stuff it Inu-Yasha." Shippo stalked out.  
  
"Inu-Yasha you were to hard on Shippo. He's taking this as hard as you are. You know he loves her as much as you do." Miroku pointed out.  
  
"He's a demon. He can take it. It's his fault anyway. Damn. I wish Kaede were here. She can practically raise the dead." Inu-Yasha began to pace restlessly.  
  
"Maybe Kaede is here." Miroku's face took on a thoughtful look.  
  
"Explain, priest."  
  
"Well Kagome is the reincarnation on Kaede's sister, so maybe Kaede had also been reincarnated into this time. The only problem is that she would still be a baby. I heard a legend though long ago about the Jewel. That Kaede also protected a jewel, the Jewel of Split Souls; it was used for difficult healings, when herbs and natural remedies wouldn't work. It's the Shikon Jewel's counter part. It stand to reason that Kaede would also be reborn, so maybe we can use the Jewel of Four Souls to find it's sibling. If we can get that far, who knows maybe we can save Kagome." Miroku obviously knew something else but refused to comment further.  
  
"It's a long shot priest." Inu-Yasha growled.  
  
"Sometimes a shot in the dark is the best we have. Do you have a better idea?"  
  
"No. I don't like it though. Besides why didn't you ever ask Kaede about this Jewel of Split Souls?"  
  
"I figured she would have told us if she wanted us to know. It would've been rude to inquire."  
  
"How come demons never sensed this jewel? I could always feel the presence of the Shikon Jewel."  
  
"Probably because a artifact of healing can't be used by demons."  
  
"Fine, How do we plan on finding this Jewel of Split Souls?"  
  
"Unless I'm mistaken the Shikon Jewel will react to it if it's close enough." Miroku continued, "I think you should be the one holding it. Your much closer to Kagome then I am so the jewel should react to your emotions favorably."  
  
"Let's go." Inu-yasha stalked into Kagome's room, removed the Jewel, and stalked back out.  
  
Miroku silently held up a cap and coat for the irate dog-demon. Inu- Yasha didn't quite growl but came very close. They stepped out of the house and Inu-Yasha began to make a small token effort to calm himself down. He held the jewel up and looked at it carefully.  
  
"Ok, jewel which way?" Inu-Yasha asked jokingly. Surprisingly the Jewel began to swing in his hand then stopped just as suddenly. It tugged east down his driveway, then in a north direction toward the outskirts of the town.  
  
"Ummm. Inu-Yasha let's check in the town first. We'll probably have more luck."  
  
"No. Miroku, the jewel's swinging this way. I can feel its tug, almost as if it's pulling on my mind and body…"  
  
"That's more than I had hoped for but let's not doubt luck Come on dog boy lead the way." Miroku smiled slightly. It was about time they had a change in luck. 


	3. Search for the Jewel of Split Souls

Chapter 3  
  
"Little girl, should you be out here alone?" Inu-Yasha asked kindly. They were now into a virtually deserted area of the town and here was this young girl all alone. "Where's your mother?"  
  
"At work." the child replied confidently.  
  
"Don't you have someone to take care of you?"  
  
"I can take care of myself." the girl replied unabashed. "I'm five and a half."  
  
"Inu-Yasha?" Miroku cut in. "The Shikon Jewel. It's..." Miroku pointed.  
  
Inu-Yasha looked down the jewel and it was straining in his hand toward the young girl. "What's your name?" he inquired.  
  
"Kaede. That's my nick name anyway."  
  
Miroku thought for a second then it came to him. "Inu-Yasha let her hold the jewel." He turned to the child. "Kaede do you like ice cream? If you hold that jewel and repeat after me we'll take you out to get any type of ice cream you like."  
  
"Really! Ok." her face lit up and she held up an eager hand.  
  
When the girl held the jewel Miroku began. "I your owner call to you, Jewel of Split Souls."  
  
"I, your owner call to you, Jewel of Split Souls." she looked at him expectantly.  
  
"With the Power I command come forth,"  
  
"With the Power I command come forth."  
  
"The Shikon Jewel calls you forth."  
  
"The Shikon Jewel calls you forth." Kaede beamed at Miroku, and he winked back.  
  
"Come to me now."  
  
"Come to me now." She finished the verse and gave him another expectant look.  
  
"What were you doing Miroku?" Inu-Yasha asked.  
  
"It was a long shot, I hoped we could use the Shikon Jewel to call forth the gem. Let's go get that ice-cream now." Miroku turned back to Kaede.  
  
"I never heard of ice-cream." a dry voice came from behind them.  
  
Both people spun behind them stood Kaede. Little Kaede, and Big Kaede. "I'd really like to know how, and why you pulled me out of my other life." Big Kaede lifted an expectant eyebrow.  
  
"We were trying to pull the Jewel of Split Souls from your reincarnated body." Miroku tried to explain.  
  
"I want ice cream." Little Kaede wailed.  
  
Miroku picked her up and motioned for the other's to follow.  
  
Ten minutes later they were in a small ice cream restaurant each eating their respective ice creams. Kaede finally began.  
  
"What made you so sure that the Jewel of Split Souls was in my body?"  
  
"Well, Kagome... and...I" Miroku gave up and shrugged.  
  
"I don't have it. That's probably why you pulled me out instead of the Jewel. Why did you need the Jewel any way?"  
  
"It's Kagome. She's..." Inu-Yasha didn't, couldn't finish.  
  
"She's hurt." Miroku looked away. "She got attacked by a gang and we couldn't stop them in time."  
  
Kaede analyzed the situation quickly. "The Jewel will be found most easily in the feudal ages. You must go back there and I will stay here with Kagome. I think that with the help of Little K, I of course will coach her, we can keep Kagome alive long enough, if she's as bad off as you say I will need the jewel to cure her. You must be careful though. Kagome of the past must not know your purpose. She cannot be allowed to change the future. If she tries then instead of changing this Kagome's future she will instead split the realities into this Kagome's world and past Kagome's world. That could be disastrous."  
  
"We understand. How will you keep Little K with you? Won't your/her parents miss her?" Inu-Yasha asked.  
  
"No. We're orphan's and she's disappeared for day's at a time before." Big Kaede explained.  
  
"Ok come on." Inu-Yasha picked up the little girl, who instantly snuggled him.  
  
At the house Kaede examined Kagome. "It's as bad as you thought at least. Go and return with haste, and bring the Shikon Jewel with you."  
  
Miroku and Inu-Yasha nodded and turned to leave. At the door however were Shippo and Sango watching them.  
  
"Were coming too." Shippo stated. Inu-Yasha just nodded and brushed past him.  
  
For the first time in so long they would all be going back, back to where this first began. It was going to be hard for Inu-Yasha everyone to accept something they had all buried long ago. None of them ever expected to have to risk the feudal ages again. Yet when they entered the well and returned to the forest where it all began, it felt like home. Inu-Yahsa and all the other's felt an air of happiness come over them. They were home, and it felt so right.  
  
  
  
If you like tell, and I'll keep writing! 


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